Patna
Even as the three-member multidisciplinary team of the Union Health Ministry arrived in Patna to review the steps taken by the state government to curb the coronavirus pandemic, Union Law and Justice Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who represents Patna Saheb Lok Sabha constituency, expressed concern over the rising Covid-19 cases in Bihar.
The central team, consisting of Lav Agarwal, joint secretary, Dr SK Singh, director of National Institute for Diseases Control, and Dr Neeraj Nischal, associate professor of AIIMS, New Delhi, will visit the corona hotspot areas in the state during their two-day sojourn. On Sunday, they held a meeting with the state health officials in Patna and later left for Gaya, another hotspot in Bihar.
Talking to state Health Minister Mangal Pandey, Chief Secretary Deepak Kumar, director of AIIMS Patna, and the district magistrate, the Union minister emphasized on the need to increase the number of dedicated hospitals for COVID-19 patients. He said that more beds should be added to AIIMS and a wing of Patna Medical College Hospital should be converted into a dedicated hospital. Also, he said, more beds in the ICU wards should be added.
Besides, he asked the officials to take over large private hospitals and convert them into dedicated Covid hospitals without further delay. According to him, the ESI hospital at Bihta should also be made into a dedicated hospital.
At the same time, Prasad said the state government should recruit and post doctors and paramedical staff on an emergency basis. He directed the state officials to procure oxygen cylinders, ventilators, masks, and gloves in bulk.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Health Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, who represents Buxar LS constituency, talked to Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi and informed him that in addition to the 100 ventilators sent last month, 264 more ventilators have arrived in Patna for the Covid patients. He told the state government to speed up tracking, tracing, and testing. He regretted that in the last ten days, there has been an alarming rise in the number of patients in Bihar. From 10,000 on July 1 to 26,000 after two weeks. So far, 208 people have died of Corona in Bihar.
The opposition has criticized the state government for its "failure" to control the spread of the virus. Leader of opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav commented that the NDA was more concerned about elections and it was engaged in virtual rallies.
